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 Personal Money Planning'se-Newsletter for October 30, 2010 (to look at past issues, click here) |
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Halloween is the biggest holiday for candy sales in the U.S. Americans spend $1.9 Billion on candy in the 8 week period before Halloween. Most of that is sold on the day before Halloween and the day of.
The Top 5 Traditional Halloween Candy:
- Lollipops
- Tootsie Rolls/Pops
- Smarties
- Bubble Gum
- "Fun Size" Chocolates (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the favorite)
"And a personal tidbit from me... I'm a Butterfinger man, myself."
--Gary
(Candy info Source: www.chacha.com) |
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Disclosure | |
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This newsletter is produced by Gary Silverman, dba Personal Money Planning, a registered investment advisor located in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Information in this newsletter is believed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regards to the subject matter covered. However, the accuracy, timeliness, or applicability of the information is not guaranteed and is provided with the understanding that we are not rendering legal, accounting, tax, or other professional advice or services.
This publication should not be construed by any consumer and/or prospective client as Personal Money Planning's solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, over the Internet. Nor should links provided to other sites be construed as the recommendation of the services or products mentioned on those sites. If such services are required, the help of a competent professional should be sought.
Remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Therefore, you should not assume that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product made reference to (directly or indirectly) on this Website will be profitable or equal to indicated performance levels. Different types of investment involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that any specific investment will either be suitable or profitable for your investment portfolio.
Historical performance results for investment indexes and categories generally do not reflect the deduction of transaction or custodial charges or the deduction of an investment management fee, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance results.
A copy of Personal Money Planning's current written disclosure statement discussing Personal Money Planning's business operations, services, and fees (known as an ADV Part II) is available from Personal Money Planning upon written request (and can be downloaded from our web site).
Personal Money Planning does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to Personal Money Planning's web site or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility therefore. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.
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Social Security: New Math?
Seniors are mad.
As you've probably heard, for the second year in a row, those receiving Social Security retirement benefits are not getting a cost-of-living raise. And while inflation is very modest, I don't know of many costs, especially medical care, that are going down. So if Congress needs to cut the budget, why do they have to do it on the backs of some of our most venerable citizens? They're the ones who don't exactly have the option of taking on a second job to make ends meet.
Now to get everyone to dislike me: The absence of the cost-of-living wage this year actually makes sense. It's easier to understand if you know what's going on. You see, back in 2008, gasoline prices were sky-high. Since driving around can be a major expense for people, things like the cost of an automobile and the fuel to run it make up a sizeable chuck of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Thus, when gasoline went up, so to did CPI. Because of this, seniors got one of the biggest cost-of-living raises in the history of the Social Security system.
If you've filled up your car over the last couple of years, you've noticed that the cost of gasoline has come down quite a bit. This made the CPI go down. But the rules say that while an increase in CPI will cause an increase in Social Security payouts, it doesn't allow the amount of the checks to be reduced when the cost-of-living goes down. And so far, costs have not come back up to the level that produced the last increase.
Here's an example:
Let's say that 2 years ago I would have normally given an employee $200 for a trip to Dallas. $50 is for fuel, $25 for food, and $125 for the hotel room. The following year, gas prices spike, and the rest of the costs go up a bit as well, so I raise the stipend to $240: namely $80 for fuel, $30 for food, and $130 for the hotel. But now this year fuel costs less; it's down to only $40. However, being the nice guy I am, I keep the stipend at $240. "Wait just a second," she says, "the hotel now costs me $135 and food is up to $35; you should be giving me and extra $10 compared to last year to cover those expenses."
Of course I'll point out that her overall expenses had gone down. Yes, food and hotel cost $10 more, but fuel costs $40 less. And rightly, I'm probably not going to increase the stipend until her trip costs start exceeding $240.
That's why, in general, I don't have a problem with no cost-of-living increase this year. But that's not the whole story. The rest is at the bottom of this newsletter.
--Gary
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| gary's Sunday newspaper column | Sunday Newspaper Articles You May Have Missed |
From the Wichita Falls Times Record News
Don't Risk your Short-Term Money
Gary discusses how investment decisions have changed based on recent economic challenges.
Way to go, Michelle! If you've been to the office, you know Michelle. Gary dedicated a recent column to celebrate Michelle's recent graduation. |
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gary's
other
newspaper column | Biz to Biz Article You May Have Missed |
From the Wichita Falls Times Record News Biz to Biz
This time of year, we start to focus on what we are thankful for now. But why not explore what we would like to be thankful for in the future?
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| Article links from |
The Economist |
Just one more thing...
U.S. states and municipalities have created a black hole of pension promises; by one estimate, the cost of employing a single police officer or fireman is $180,000 a year, when you account for retirement at 50, plus inflation--linking retirement benefits, health benefits and lump sums for unused sick leave. More than 9,000 of California's municipal managers have retirement incomes over $100,000 a year. Overall, total state pension liabilities now amount to $5.3 trillion, compared with $1.9 trillion of assets. The $3.4 trillion shortfall is equal to a quarter of all federal debt.
This article shows a chart with the largest pension benefits promises by state; Ohio, Colorado, Rhode Island and New Mexico lead the list when measured as a percentage of tax revenues, but some states, like Illinois, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Mississippi will run out of pension fund assets even earlier, by 2023. This, the article says, sets the stage for a conflict between public-sector workers and taxpayers. Meanwhile, the state of New Jersey has been charged by the SEC for misrepresenting the underfunding of its pension plans to muni bond investors. Its $174 billion pension deficit is equivalent to 44% of the state's GDP, more than three times its official debt.
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| from gary's facebook pages |
Facebook Stuff You May Have Missed: from Personal Money Planning
and Gary Silverman |
For information about Personal Money Planning, continued sharing of links about money, small business, finance, and the economy, be sure to link to the Personal Money Planning Page by Clicking Here: 
You may have already "friended" Gary on his personal Facebook page, if not, Friend Away by Clicking Here:  Here are a few links from recent posts:
It's that time of year again when we begin seeing the advertizements about the upcoming season. Gary thinks this stuff is marketed way too early, but of course the earlier the better when it comes to getting your money. Of course we are talking about tax season. Gary's already received several mailers and e-mails from Turbo-Tax and other software providers. The question is, should you use one of these software packages or hire a professional? This article looks at who should and who shouldn't let their computers do their taxes.
No Place Like Home(s)
Are you a snowbird--traveling back and forth between a summer and winter residence? Maybe you are recently retired and finally have a chance to spend more than a few weeks in that vacation home you own. Or maybe your house is in one state but you work remotely most of the year in another. In those and many other circumstances, you may run into two or more states vying for your tax dollars. In fact it's not unusual to have two states both think you are their 100% resident. This article delves into this issue of residency and taxes.http://www.fa-mag.com/component/content/article/6017.html?issue=154&magazineID=3&Itemid=211
Lessons from Bikini Bottom
Mail-Order Briefs This was also shared on the business page. A company is looking to have a sort of underwear of the month club to get men to be a bit more proactive at replacing their boxers or briefs. Gary guesses a lot of wives and girlfriends will be actively subscribing for their significant others. http://news.discovery.com/tech/solar-wind-energy-power.html
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parting thoughts
The Rest of the Story on Social Security
Just because I understand and agree with there being no cost-of-living increase in Social Security this year, that doesn't mean that I think the systems works. Here's a brief list of things that are happening:
1) Seniors who started Social Security after the last cost-of-living increase end up on the short-end. They didn't get the big jump that tilted the system, but still have to suffer with no gains for the last two years.
2) As I've examined in previous writings, the CPI is a lousy inflation index to base anyone's cost-of-living on. It's doubly bad for seniors. 3) Social Security is starting to take in less that it is paying out. This is anticipated to continue forever unless congress does something about it. Remember that when the politicians ask for your opinion. Have a great Halloween. Boo! |
Gary
Gary Silverman, CFP
Personal Money Planning
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©2010 Personal Money Planning. All rights are reserved by Personal Money Planning and content may not be reproduced, disseminated, or transferred in any form or by any means, except with the prior written permission of Personal Money Planning unless specifically noted. (Permission is not difficult to obtain.) The one exception is for downloading and printing information this newsletter for general education by the original recipient. |
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